To get out of debt, you have to really want to.
I know that sounds really simple, but its SO true. No one ever just wakes up one morning and is like “Oops – I’m debt free! How did that happen?” It’s really easy to get into debt but you have to create a plan if you want to get out of it.
You have to be intentional, and focused, and really, really want to. It’s very simple to pay off all your debt, but it’s not EASY. I’ll say that again – its simple – you just take money and you pay it all off and then you don’t get any more. But its difficult – if it were easy, everyone would be debt-free and it wouldn’t require any sacrifice.
Probably one of the most drastic “sacrifices” we made, that actually impacted our quality of life, was to take on roommates in our home. Not impacted negatively – just moderately changed our lives. Over the years we have rented our guest room out to three different people (at different times). These people were all friends or at least acquaintances, and we were relatively sure each of them would not murder us in our sleep. And we ARE alive today to tell about it, so I’d say it worked out well for everyone. But our house is pretty small, so we had to share the one bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and living room.
Friend 1 – A friend I met at work wanted to move out of her parents home. She was also actively seeking employment out of state and so we figured she wouldn’t stay around too long. This was an experiment and it was great. We loved getting rent money in exchange for our guest room and we decided always wearing pants was something we were willing to do. She did move out of state and we parted ways on great terms.
Friend 2 – This was a guy with whom my husband went to high school. Bizarrely, we found him through an ad on Craigslist but when he showed up, it turned out they knew each other, so we felt like it was meant to be. Besides a few late night, rowdy World of Warcraft sessions (lol), he was a great roommate. He got engaged after about 8 months and moved in with his fiancee.
Friend 3 – A good friend, who was living out of state and needed a place to rent to transition back to our neck of the woods. She already had a job and this was perfect for us. She stayed about a year, probably the longest of any of our renters. After she moved out, we wanted to take a roommate break, and go back to wearing no pants around the house.
One thing I will say – having roommates allowed us a huge leap forward in our debt/mortgage payoff goal. $500/month is $6,000 a year that came out of nowhere – for little to no cost on our part. It was the best “side hustle” because it took no time. The only expense was maybe buying a bit more toilet paper and laundry soap. And with the girls, it was nice for me to have a built-in hang out buddy around (extroverts holla!).
I will tell a funny story though – just for you slightly crazy people like me. One day I got home from work and my roommate’s car and my husband’s car were both in the driveway. So I thought – cool, everyone’s home. So I walk in the door and the dog greets me, but no one else is around. I go “Hello, I’m home” and I get no reply. And mind you, this is not a large house. So I look in the living room and bathroom – no one. I go down the hall – my roommate’s door is open and she is not in there. I keep walking down the hall – my bedroom door is closed. That’s weird. And as I’m walking up to the door, my brain tells me – They are in there together. They are having sex in your bed. You’re going to have to commit murder today. How long do people go to jail for homicide? And I hesitate at the door, holding my breath and trying to bask in the time before I knew my husband was sleeping with my best friend.
And I slowly open the door, and the room is dark. My husband is asleep. Alone. He had a migraine. And our roommate? She wasn’t even home, her friend had picked her up to go out.
As I sidle up to my much maligned husband in bed, I whisper “I thought Liz* was in here.” And he mumbles “thoughtless?,” and I let him go back to sleep.
So anyway. If you can swing it, get a roommate. You (probably) won’t regret it.
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Have you ever done anything extreme to save money? Would you consider getting a roommate or taking in a lodger?
